Tourist pairs go viral: destroyed artwork in the most crazy way

A tourist couple in Italy has gone viral for all the wrong reasons after they sat down on a crystal-clad chair, which they did not seem to know was a work of art, in the middle of an exhibition at the Palazzo Maffei Museum in Verona.

The museum has since shared footage from surveillance cameras showing the couple stand up in front of the chair and sit down, obviously to take a picture.

The problem? The chair is part of a work of art by Italian artist Nicola Bolla and inspired by Van Gogh’s famous painting chair from 1888.

The museum has chosen not to identify the couple in public, but instead hopes that the incident can be used as an opportunity to remind everyone of something important: Art must be experienced – but with respect.

« What you see here is unfortunately not a joke, » a statement from the museum said. « Two visitors chose to ignore both rules and common sense and sat down on a work of art to take a ‘effective’ image while waiting for the security guards to look away. That kind of behavior is not just disrespect, but jeopardizes art’s integrity. »

On social media, the reactions have not failed. Hundreds of users have expressed indignation and many demand that the couple be identified and held financially responsible for the damage. « I hope they get a proper fine, » one writes. Another one asks directly, « Have they been charged? Have they paid for it? »

Official information has not yet been provided about how much it has cost to restore the chair, but according to several media, the work has been repaired. However, the discussion on the web has not only been about the behavior of tourists.

In addition, several have questioned why such a fragile work of art was available at all without clear shutdown.

However, Palazzo Maffei maintains that responsibility and respect go both ways:

« Art is for being admired – not ruined. »